Football Association issues Blame Statement for World Cup exit

The football associations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the british press and FIFA are to blame for England's defeat at the hands of Germany in the World Cup, according to executives at the English Football Association.

Adrian Bevington, the FA's Managing Director of Club England said the reason Fabio Capello's side are on their way home from South Africa lies not at the feet of bosses at Lancaster Gate, but elsewhere.

"If the other home associations had allowed us to use their players like Ryan Giggs and David Healy, then we would have been able to leave the likes of Aaron Lennon and Matthew Upson at home."

"Also, the expectation built up by the press and the way they've consistently rated the team as world-beaters over the last 2 years had an over-arching effect. It would have been impossible for Fabio to pick a team that could have coped with the German midfielders without incurring the wrath of The Sun, Star, Telegraph and Guardian."

But he saved the fiercest criticism for the governors of the world game, FIFA.

"Their insistence that we play football was our ultimate undoing. We're used to lumping the ball upfield and letting Wayne Rooney get away with virtual murder because defenders in the Premier League are too scared to touch him. Instead, we're presented with sides that can actually play with a round ball and know what to do to negate the impact the spud-u-don't like can have on a game."

The statement is likely to re-ignite the debate over the standard of the Premier League. However, The Sun is already defending the quality of football played in the top flight in England.

"You can't blame England's performance on the brilliant Premier League, which you can see in HD on SKY. SKY has been the saviour of the English game, making the premier league the most watched in the world and the one all the best agents want to make money from. The Sun Says that if the World Cup had been shown on SKY, England would have won."